Podcasts
VRS347 – Short-Term Rentals In The Age Of Entitlement
We’ve all experienced entitlement at some time in our business. Guests who demand something that was never shown on a listing, or wanting house rules waived. The ones who want to bring their lapdog to a property that’s not pet-friendly or squeeze a few extras in when the maximum occupancy is clearly stated. And the ones who demand a refund when the weather isn’t co-operating or their child gets bitten by a mosquito.
We’ve seen them all, but it seems this year the entitled are out in force.
They are less tolerant, more demanding, and sometimes verbally aggressive.
In general, people do seem quicker to complain and we’re hearing from more of them.
The new guests unfamiliar with short-term rental who don’t know what to expect and often come with unrealistic expectations based on previous experiences in resort or hotel accommodation.
The less self-reliant who don’t understand there is no-one to take care of their complaints immediately.
Then there’s the intolerance. After months in lockdown, there’s a lot of emotion put into making a vacation really special, and when it doesn’t go perfectly according to plan, the emotions will surface.
People don’t seem to be waking in the morning thinking what a great day it’s going to be – instead it’s more, what’s going to go wrong today.
In this episode, I talk about different types of complainers, and what to expect from each type, and a five-step process for managing issues.
It’s likely we will experience more entitled behavior, and this may just get worse, so getting out ahead of it and creating relationships long before guests arrive could be the key to managing it.
In this episode, you’ll hear:
- How a dead goose can ruin a vacation
- Why we have a ‘go away’ fund
- Whether you need to be a caped avenger or just let it ride
- How ‘heuristic affect’ impacts your response to a complaint
- How serial complainers give themselves away
- The three What’s of handling an issue
- When to take 10
- How you need to write the email you want to send, then send the other one
- The importance of responding without engaging
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